Policewoman under investigation after beating drunk man in central stockholm

Published fredag 12 juli 2013 kl 17.47

A police officer has been caught on video repeatedly beating a man with her truncheon and releasing her dog on him. The man, who appears to be drunk, does not physically threaten the policewoman.

Proescutors launched a criminal investigation after newspaper Dagens Nyheter published the video, shot in central Stockholm on Friday morning.

"All I can say is that this film leads one to presume that the police officer has committed a crime. What happened before and after must be thoroughly investigated, but it is absolutely clear that there is reason to suspect a crime has been committed," Mats Åhlund of the Swedish Prosecution Authority told Dagens Nyheter.

Åhlund said it seems like the police officer used more violence than necessary.

Before the incident, the man had fled from a fight and was upset. He was bleeding after smashing a window with his hand, leading passersby to call the police and emergency services.

The film shows the police officer and the man talking out on the street. He appears to be drunk and talks about "blowing the whole street up", but he is calm and physically passive.

Suddenly, the police officer raises her voice, ordering the man to lie down. She grabs her truncheon and releases her dog.

The man moves down the street while trying to make the dog stop attacking him, calling "tell him to stop biting me". At the same time, the police officer beats the man repeatedly with her truncheon until he finally lies down.